And Seven Times Never Kill Man! is a science-fiction novelette by George R. R. Martin, first published in the July 1975 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact. It takes place in the "Thousand Worlds" universe, and is set on the Jambles planet of Corlos during the post-Interregnum period. It is about a conflict between the pacifist tribes of the Jaenshi and an invading militant religious sect called the Steel Angels.
Plot Summary
— WARNING: THIS SECTION CONTAINS SPOILERS —
The Jaenshi are a furry sentient humanoid species who live on the planet of Corlos. They structure their society around their religious beliefs, with each of their small clans worshipping a different pyramid as if it contained their gods. This society is slowly being annihilated by the Steel Angels, a belligerent human cult devoted to the "pale child" Bakkalon. The self-titled "children of Bakkalon" believe it is their duty to expand and conquer, and Corlos is their next target. As the story starts, the pacifist and wild Jaenshi are paying a heavy price for having killed one of the Steel Angels, and now their children hang on the walls of the Angel city.
The cruelty of the Angels enrages Arik neKrol, a human trader who loves Jaenshi art. NeKrol convinces his fellow trader Jannis Ryther that they need to help the Jaenshi, and Jannis leaves the planet promising to return in one year with weapons. In the meantime, neKrol tries to teach the Jaenshi how to use them. But it turns out most Jaenshi are uninterested in neKrol’s weapons, confident that their gods will protect them. The exception is a small group of exiles - Jaenshi whose pyramids and clans were destroyed, and who couldn’t find homes among others. Led by a Jaenshi known as the bitter speaker, the exiles are determined to fight the Angels and protect the surviving clans.
When the children of Bakkalon advance against a huge Jaenshi clan, neKrol and his ragtag bunch of exiles moves to protect them. However, when the Angels try to destroy this clan’s pyramid, the pyramid's blocks transform into transparent crystal, and an image of the pale child Bakkalon smiling appears beneath the canopy. Most Steel Angels believe it to be a miracle, except for weaponsmaster C’ara DaHan. Before he can order the destruction of the pyramid, he’s killed by one of the exiles. This prompts an armed conflict between Jaenshi and children of Bakkalon, with several deaths on both sides, including neKrol.
Little is known of the Jaenshi after this conflict, but the bitter speaker and two other exiles meet Jannis and prepare to leave with her. The Steel Angels still live in their city, but they become obsessed with their new-found god/pyramid. They burn their winter provisions and kill their own children, who now hang on the walls of the Angel city.[1]
— END OF SPOILERS —
Themes
And Seven Times Never Kill Man! depicts both the destructive and self-destructive effects of religious dogmatism. It begins with the Steel Angels hanging the bodies of dead Jaenshi children along their walls, and ends with them hanging the corpses of their own children. This suggests that the violence directed at others is spiritually directed at oneself.
Author's Notes
According to Martin, the concept of the Steel Angels was inspired by the book Dorsai! by Gordon R. Dickson, while the term came from a song "Star-Spangled Bummer (Whores Die Hard)" by Kris Kristofferson. [2]
Publication History
And Seven Times Never Kill Man! was first published in the July 1975 issue of Analog Science Fiction and Fact.
It was included in Martin's short story collection Songs of Stars and Shadows, published in 1977, and Nightflyers and Other Stories, published in 1981.
It was later included in his 2003 anthology Dreamsongs: A RRetrospective.
Adaptations
Martin's short story anthology Dreamsongs was released in audiobook format. It included a recording of And Seven Times Never Kill Man! read by Roy Doltrice.
"And Seven Times Never Kill Man!" by George R. R. Martin (audiobook)
Reception
In 1976, And Seven Times Never Kill Man! was nominated for the Hugo Award and Locus Award for Best Novelette.
In 2021, the Vassals of Kingsgrave podcast released a review of And Seven Times Never Kill Man!:
"And Seven Times Never Kill Man!" by George R. R. Martin (Review) - Bastards of Kingsgrave Ep.84
Connections to the "Thousand Worlds" Universe
In his sermon to the Steel Angels, Proctor Wyatt recounts the horrors that humanity suffered during the Double War, and the Fyndii and Hrangan attacks on Bastion. The weaponsmaster C'ara DaHan also mentions "soul-feeds," a reference to the Githyanki, one of the Hrangan slaveraces.
Among the various goods neKrol traded with the Jaenshi, he mentions “bright bolts of glittersilk from Avalon” and “glowstone jewelry from High Kavalaan.”
The story also mentions duralloy, a technology which is ubiquitous throughout the "Thousand Worlds" universe.
Allusions to Other GRRM Works
And Seven Times Never Kill Man! is the first of Martin's works to include the phrase "winter is coming", which would become an important mantra in his A Song of Ice and Fire series. It is the words of House Stark, as well as the tagline and premiere episode title of the HBO adaptation Game of Thrones.
And Seven Times Never Kill Man! is set on the planet of Corlos, which has the same name as the nightmarish realm where Only Kids Are Afraid of the Dark is set.
The Steel Angels worship a deity called Bakkalon, or the "pale child"; in The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr, when Sarra expresses her desire to continue exploring other worlds, Laren Dorr warns her: “Be careful how you go. Even your crown will not help you should they move on you directly. And the pale child Bakkalon will tear at you, and Naa-Slas feed upon your pain, and Saagael on your soul."
Martin states in the anthology Dreamsongs that he created the deity of Bakkalon for use in his contributions to the Dr. Weird comic book series, which include Only Kids Are Afraid of the Dark and what became The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr, although the character never appeared in either story.
In A Feast for Crows (the fourth book of A Song of Ice and Fire), Arya Stark notices the statue of a pale infant with a sword. She learns that this statue, the statue of Bakkalon, is most commonly visited by soldiers.
In a preview chapter of The Winds of Winter (the sixth book of A Song of Ice and Fire), Tyrion Lannister mentions the Pale Child to Penny during the second siege of Meereen as being another name for "death." In another preview chapter, Aeron Damphair has a nightmare of several foreign gods impaled upon the Iron Throne, which includes an image of the Pale Child Bakkalon.
In Fire and Blood (a companion history book to A Song of Ice and Fire), it is mentioned that Princess Larra Rogare of Lys, wife of Prince Viserys Targaryen, rejects the gods of Westeros, and continues to worship only Lysenni gods, such as "the pale child Bakkalon of the Sword [and] faceless Saagael, the giver of pain."
The conflict between the Jaenshi and the Steel Angels strongly evokes the historical conflict in A Song of Ice and Fire, between the Children of the Forest, who are indigenous to Westeros, and the invading First Men and Andals. Like the Jaenshi, the Children are small non-human sentients, physically and spiritually closer to nature, less technologically advanced, and less prone to violence. The Steel Soldiers, like the First Men and Andals, are larger humans, antagonistic towards nature, more technologically advanced, and prone to violence. In particular, the Andals were religious fundamentalists who invaded Westeros in the name of the Seven, and would carve seven-pointed stars into their own flesh. The ending of And Seven Times Never Kill Men! suggests that though they are overcome physically, the Jaenshi were able to defeat the Steel Angels spiritually, and convert them to their religion. This echoes what happened with the First Men after their conquest.
Allusions to Other Media
The novelette's title is drawn from Rudyard Kipling's 1894 novel Jungle Book, which includes the passage: "You may kill for yourselves, and your mates, and your cubs as they need, and you can; but kill not for pleasure of killing, and SEVEN TIMES NEVER KILL MAN.” Martin states that the title earned him almost as much praise as the story, and that afterwards several other writers, all Kipling fans, told him that they were annoyed they hadn't used it first.
It's possible that the Pale Child Bakkalon is inspired by the Ancient Roman mystery cult Mithraism. Mithras, to the Romans, was an Indo-Iranian God who was worshipped in secret by the Roman military across the empire. Part of the tradition of the cult was the story of the birth of "the child Mithras" fully formed from a rock, holding a sword and torch.
The original Analog artwork for the Jaenshi bears a striking resemblance to the design of Chewbacca in George Lucas' Star Wars, which was released the following year. Fans of Martin and Lucas have pointed out that Ralph McQuarrie's initial Chewbacca costume design looked very different from the final version, and that John Shoenherr's drawings on the July 1975 cover of Analog may have inspired the re-design.[3]
References
- ↑ The Fandomentals https://www.thefandomentals.com/grrm-seven-times-never-kill-man/
- ↑ Martin, George R. R., Dreamsongs: A RRetrospective
- ↑ Slashfilm https://www.slashfilm.com/george-rr-martin-chewbacca/